1. Welcome to the Sixth Form Study Skills Evening The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

2. Head of Sixth Form: Mrs G Gold Assistant Head of Sixth Form: Mr J Beadle Pastoral Manager: Mrs C Mills Tutors: C – Ms Godfrey M – Miss Lucking H – Mr WattsR – Mrs Cook E – Mrs WoodV – Mr King L – Mr Wareham Mr Walsh

3. Programme of study for a Sixth Form student A typical Study Programme looks like this:- 3 / 4 A Levels (AS Levels / BTECs) IfS – 1 lesson per week (Certificate of Finance) + 1 lesson Study Period per week Core Mathematics Qualification Extended Project Qualification – 1 lesson Study Period per week + 1 hour per ½ term for workshop on EPQ P1 and P5 are designated Study Periods P1 is in the library / P5 is in the Study Room Tutorials (in tutor time) Enrichment Activities UCAS Day / Higher Education Convention Work Experience Week (and preparation) The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

4. Enrichment Activities Vehicle Maintenance Computer building / gaming Zumba Football Young Enterprise Photography Resit English / Maths The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

5. Sixth Form Examination Timeline AS Examinations are held in May 2016 with results issued in August. Students need a minimum of a “D” grade in order to continue to A2. A2 Courses begin 06 June 2016 (subject to AS examinations having finished). A LEVEL COURSES CONTINUE THROUGHOUT WITH PRE-PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS TAKING PLACE IN JUNE In Year 13 most students study 3 subjects and continue with the Finance, Core Mathematics and EPQ courses into Year 13 There is no examination for the Extended Project – it is all coursework, internally marked and externally moderated. The Certificate of Finance examinations will be held in January 2017 and May 2017. Core Mathematics examinations will be in June 2017. The full A level grade is calculated as a combination of all the units sat (either 4 or 6) during both years of the course Results in August 2017 The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

6. Changes to A Level Courses Art, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, English, History, Physics, Psychology, Sociology These are 2 Year A Levels. Pre-public examinations will take place in June 2016 to gauge progress A “D” grade is required before moving onto Year 13 There may be an opportunity to “resit” at the beginning of the Autumn Term The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

7. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Expectations: All students should be in school every morning at 8.35am. Lateness will be monitored and students will be expected to make up the time on a Friday after school. Lessons 1 and 5 are supervised private study lessons for all students with no class to attend. No music during lessons. No mobile phones in lessons. Where possible medical appointments etc. should not be made during school time Driving lessons should never be arranged during school time (driving test OK!) Holidays during term time will not be authorised. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

8. ATTENDANCE 100% Attendance 0 days of absenceOutstanding 97% Attendance 6 days of absence 1 Week and 1 Day of learning missed Good 95% Attendance 9 days of absence 1 Week and 4 Days of Learning Missed Requires Improvement 90% 19 Days of Absence 3 Weeks and 4 Days of Learning Missed Poor 85%28 Days of Absence 5 Weeks and 3 Days of Learning Missed Very Poor The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

9. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Work ethic: Students are expected to spend at least as long (and usually longer) following up on work after lessons as they spend in the lesson This means a one hour lesson attracts 1-2 hours study later on. This cannot all be completed during normal school hours! (Need to be working a 35-40 hour week, including lessons) The increased amount of independent learning is the single biggest difference from studying for GCSEs. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

10. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening The Importance of Year 12: The students who achieve high grades at both AS and full A level are those who work consistently from the start of Year 12. Unlike GCSE, it is not possible to “rescue” a good grade in the last 2-3 months of study. Students cannot continue with the A2 modules in Year 13 if they fail the AS in Year 12 and all subjects require students to achieve a grade D minimum to continue with the course to full A level. (AS and A level pass grades are A-E). Time spent on re-sits during Year 13 detracts from study for the harder A2 modules. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

11. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Paid work: Ideally one 8 hour shift per week is the maximum that should be undertaken to maintain a healthy school work / paid work / social life balance. Working for more hours than this impacts negatively on study through lack of time / tiredness etc. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

12. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Holiday during school time: Holidays during term time will not be authorised. Many subjects have modules in May and early June. There is no study leave during this time, although exceptions are made for those who have examinations in the morning. A2 modules start week beginning 6 th June as these require more teaching time than the AS modules. A Level subjects continue teaching throughout until the end of the summer term. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

13. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Preparing for life beyond school: Careers advice available University advice in the summer term and next autumn AS grades / BTEC Certificate grades go on university applications as well as predicted grades for A2 / A Level / Level 3 so AS results are very important. Targets for AS are based on average GCSE point scores These will be issued shortly and can be discussed at Consultation Evening on Thursday 12 th November The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

14. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening Key Dates for Year 12 Thursday 12 th November – Sixth Form Parents’ Consultation Evening (4.30- 7.30pm) 7 th December – 16 th December AS / A Level Pre-Public Examination Thursday 4 th February – Sixth Form Parent’s Consultation Evening (4.30 – 7.30pm) Tuesday 19 th April – Higher Education Support Evening May – June AS examinations Monday 6 th June – A2 courses commence (TBC) Friday 24 th June – Higher Education Convention (awaiting approval) Monday 18 th July - Work experience (one week) Thursday 11 th August – A and AS level results day The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

15. Sixth Form Study Skills Evening How can you help your AS student? Ensure good attendance / punctuality Communicate with the Sixth Form office if there is an absence / a concern Ensure private study is continuing in the home Encourage attendance to revision sessions Attend Consultation Evenings Support your student in meeting deadlines The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

16. Transition from GCSE to A Level 85% of 6 th form students said there is a major increase in workload when they moved from GCSE to A level 82% said “there is a major difference in how I think and learn and the skills I require when studying A Level”

17. Feedback from Universities Universities are now saying ‘students entering first year are not sufficiently prepared for university study’ –Students have been trained to learn for exams. –Students ‘read’ for a degree. This implies they have to work for themselves. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

18. Feedback from teachers Many students fail to deliver coursework and homework to deadlines. Need notes – fall asleep in class Those who interact do best Revision is crammed in last weeks before exam

19. Student Questionnaire: Learning Skills

20. Student Questionnaire: Organisation and revision skills

21. 5 Top Tips to be successful in Year 12: 1.Use Study Period 1 & 5 effectively – It will help! 2.Go to your subject teachers if you need extra help! 3.Allocate time at home for study and time for relaxation! 4.Keep your notes organised and keep on top of your work! 5.Start revising early! The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

22. Mrs GOLD’S Top Ten... Study Strategies

23. #1: Preview the text Why would I want to do that? Helps you determine what you already know about the topic and how much you need to learn. Helps you plan how to break the reading assignment into manageable chunks so that you use your time efficiently. How do I do that? Read the table of contents to understand the topics of each chapter and how they relate to each other. Read all the headings and subheadings. Learn all you can from pictures, maps and graphics. Read the questions or problems at the end of the chapter. Divide the assignment into smaller chunks and begin reading. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

24. #2: Take notes in the text use your highlighter cautiously! If you’re going to highlight, make sure you use your highlighter sparingly to identify the really important main ideas. Best Way? Write short summaries, questions or comments in the margin of the text. helps you to engage with the text and gives you a running record of your understanding Or... Take notes in a separate notebook Remember – you are synthesizing and summarizing, not copying. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

25. #3: Review your notes within 24 hours True or False? Without ongoing review we lose 98% of the total sum of ideas entering the mind within a 4 week period of time. True! Review your class notes within 24 hours in order to transfer what you’ve heard from your short term to long term memory Take a few minutes each day to skim through your notes, fill in information you missed, and identify questions you have. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

26. #4: Study for an exam with the format in mind Not all exam questions are created equal. Modify your study strategies to reflect the type of thinking skills required on the exam. Have a sense of how many questions will be on the exam so that you can allot enough time to each question. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

27. #5: Study actively Sound familiar? You have a Psychology practice paper tomorrow, but you feel confident that you know the material. You’ve read all the chapters and reviewed your lecture notes. You take the exam and it seems as though the questions don’t represent the information you were told to study. What went wrong?... The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

28. “So, how do I do that?” Draw diagrams or charts representing relationships between ideas Work through practice problems and old exam questions Create a study group and quiz each other Cover up your notes and talk through a concept as though you were teaching it to someone else. Make flash cards or study sheets and review them regularly....you didn’t study actively. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

29. #6: Form a Study Group Some facts about study groups:  Provide greater opportunities to question, review, clarify, and discuss. an audience to read, respond to, and discuss their drafts of their papers.  Encourage a variety of problem-solving strategies.  Help reduce procrastination increase motivation ease anxiety. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

30. “Okay, I have a study group...now what?” IMPORTANT! Set an agenda to make sure your study session doesn’t become a social session  Practice problem-solving techniques  Practice teaching one another  Test each other  Compare class notes  Have each group member take responsibility for leading a discussion on one part of an assignment The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

31. #7: Make Your Time Visual Gives you more control over your use of time. Write due dates on a monthly or termly calendar. Create a weekly schedule with designated study times. Use Outlook Calendar on the school system! Make “to do” lists – cross off items when you complete them Keep your calendar and “to do” lists in a highly visible spot – refer to them regularly The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

32. #8: Be Conscious of Your Environment and Time of Day Environment  Can mean the difference between productively completing an essay / homework task and staring blankly into space  Consider level of background noise level of comfort types of distractions. Time of Day  Study your most difficult subjects when you are most alert, whether that be at 7am or 11:30pm. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

33. #9: If You Have Trouble Beginning an Essay... Just Write! Freewriting  Instead of staring at a blank screen, just start typing whatever comes into your head  Once you’ve had a chance to purge, begin directing your freewriting to ideas that are relevant to what you are supposed to be studying. What if that doesn’t work?  Discuss your ideas with a friend Ask your friend to just listen and write down what you say so that you have a record of your thoughts to use as the basis for your paper. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

34. #10: Get to Know Your Teachers Why? They’re experts in the content of the course They’ve studied this material themselves They’re well-positioned to help you develop effective study strategies in that particular course/discipline The more they know you the more they can help you Visit the Sixth Form office BEFORE you begin having problems – Make an appointment or just drop in. Your teachers are there to help you. The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community

35. Be organised, plan ahead Avoid overload Tackle the most important jobs first Practise good habits early Practise effective study techniques Have a vision Be resilient – don’t give up! The Chelmer Valley Route to Success. A Challenging Vibrant Happy and Supportive Community